SENATORS CRITICIZE SHAMIR'S POSITION ON MIDEAST PEACE

By NEIL A. LEWIS, Special to the New York Times

Published: March 6, 1988

WASHINGTON, March 5—
Thirty United States Senators, including many of Israel's staunchest supporters, have written a letter criticizing Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and his Likud party, suggesting they may be obstructing efforts to reach a peace settlement in the Middle East.

The extraordinary public criticism of Israel was contained in a letter addressed to Secretary of State George P. Shultz, who returned home today after several days in the Middle East. Mr. Shultz has proposed the broad outlines of an interim settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. [ Page 20. ] 'Land for Peace'

The senators who signed the letter said they were dismayed at Mr. Shamir's continued resistance to the concept of Israel's ceding some territories it occupies in exchange for peace, a cornerstone of Mr. Shultz's efforts. Although the letter also criticizes Arab states except for Egypt, Congressional aides said it was intended principally to send a message to Mr. Shamir and the Likud bloc.

In criticizing the Shamir position, the senators appeared to be siding with the approach of the Israeli Labor Party, the partner in Israel's coalition Government. Shimon Peres, the Israeli Foreign Minister and the top Labor official in the coalition, has expressed strong interest in the Shultz approach.

The senators said they supported Mr. Shultz's latest ''effort to break the dangerous Middle East stalemate, a stalemate that has led to the current cycle of violence and counterviolence.'' Noting that Mr. Shultz's strategy is based on United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, the senators said the resolution ''can be summarized in three words: land for peace.''

''Accordingly, we were dismayed to read in The New York Times of Feb. 26 that Prime Minister Shamir had said that 'this expression of territory for peace is not accepted by me.' '' Circulated by Jewish Senators

The senators said they do not expect Israel to give up all the territory gained in its 1967 war with its Arab neighbors, nor does the United Nations resolution require Israel to do so. ''On the other hand,'' the letter said, ''peace negotiations have little chance of success if the Israeli Government's position rules out territorial compromise.''

The letter was circulated by Senators Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, and Rudy Boschwitz, a Minnesota Republican.

Also signing the letter were such strong supporters of Israel as Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, Alan Cranston, Democrat of California, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a New York Democrat, Howard M. Metzenbaum, an Ohio Democrat, and Frank R. Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat. A copy of the letter was provided to The New York Times.

In his recent visit to Israel, Mr. Shultz was obliged to deal separately with Mr. Shamir and Mr. Peres because of their different views. Under the coalition arrangement, the two sides have each occupied the Prime Minister's office at different times.

In the days before Mr. Shultz's arrival in Israel last month, Mr. Shamir said the divisions between the Likud and Labor parties on whether to cede territory for a peace agreement could threaten the coalition. He threatened to call early elections, although Labor Party officials said it was unlikely they could be held before the scheduled date of Nov. 1.

Congressional aides said that some senators declined to sign the letter, apparently because they were not inclined to go along with the criticism of Mr. Shamir. The letter also criticized Israel's Arab neighbors, saying that except for Egypt, no Arab state has been willing to guarantee recognition and peace for Israel in exchange for territory.

The only other country singled out for criticism in the letter is Jordan. The senators said they were disturbed by reports that ''Jordan may be backing away from the idea of a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation that would negotiate with the Israelis at a peace conference.''

They said that Israel is justified in refusing to negotiate directly with a delegation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, although it has expressed willingness to deal with a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation. ''Jordan's abandonment of the joint delegation concept now would deal a serious blow to the peace process,'' the letter said. Other Signers